A Debt Owed(9)

“And you’d be worth far more than that, but I didn’t want to give your father more cash than he deserved,” he muses, trying to grab my hand, but I remove it from the table. “I’ll give you the world if you let me.”

“No way,” I hiss.

“You’re only saying that because you’re overwhelmed. But you’ll change your mind soon enough,” he says, getting up from his chair.

“I doubt that,” I say, but he clears his throat as if he doesn’t wanna hear me.

“C’mon. We’re leaving,” he says.

I make a face. “Where are you taking me now? Another fancy trip? Wanna flaunt me like some goddamn prize?”

He pulls me out of my seat and wraps his arm firmly around my waist, forcing me to leave with him.

“My home … and I promise, you’ll love it there. You won’t ever want to go back once you’re there.”

“There?” That sounds far. “Back from where?” I ask as he drags me outside where the car waits.

He opens the door, and growls, “The Netherlands.” And before I can say another word, he pushes me into the car and shuts the door.





Chapter 4





Charlotte



I’ve thought of escaping. At every turn, every time I stepped out of a car, moved through a hallway, walked into a new door … I’ve thought about running away.

But then that image of my father’s dead body in a casket pops up, and I hesitate. And then the moment passes.

That’s how it’s been for the past few hours as I was escorted to the airstrip.

Within minutes, we’re in a private jet that lifts off and flies over the horizon. Everything happens faster than I can process. How did I let all of this happen?

Easton threatened my father’s life … but would he really do it? Would he honestly have my father killed just to prove his point? Who would be that cruel?

This man staring at me from his seat right across from me. This man keeping me as a hostage for his pleasure.

Why does he want me so badly? We barely know each other, and we’ve only seen each other a couple of times.

“What are you thinking about?” he suddenly asks, interrupting my train of thought.

I shift in my seat and take a deep breath. “What did I do to make you want me so badly? What’s so special about me?”

His index finger rests just below his lips, framing the smile that appears. “Everything.”

The smug look on his face makes me flush. I shouldn’t because it’s not right, but no one ever says these things straight to my face, and I don’t know what to do about it.

“You should feel flattered that I want you,” he adds.

But all it just makes me want to gag. My stomach twists as though someone’s wrapped a rope around me and pulls tighter and tighter until I can no longer breathe.

Suffocation. That’s how it feels … Like being confined to a chest by a man who only takes me out when it’s time for play.

A shiver rolls up and down my spine at the thought of what that playtime will be like. What does he plan on doing with me once we’re married? And when the time comes, will I be able to thwart him off?

I look out the window as we cross the ocean, and I mentally say goodbye to the country I used to call mine. It feels as though I’ll never set foot there again.

But I won’t let this man get to me because surely, this won’t last forever. One way or another, that debt will be repaid, and then I’ll be free. I won’t have to pay for my father’s reckless spending, right? He knows it wasn’t my fault, so I’m sure he’s working on a different solution as we speak.

“Are you daydreaming?” Easton asks.

I shift in my seat, trying to ignore him, but it’s hard with his penetrative stare constantly on my face.

“You know you can speak, right?” he says.

“I don’t see the need,” I reply, glancing at him for only a second, but it’s already too much because just the sight of his deep blue eyes has my body quaking.

God, why does he have this effect on me? I hate it.

“Of course, you do. I know you have questions,” he says, “but you’re too afraid to ask. I won’t bite, I promise … not hard anyway.” The smirk that follows heats me to my core.

“Is that what this is, why you chose me?” I ask, trying not to let my guard down. “So you could act out all your filthy fantasies on me?”

His thumb brushes along his lip softly. “Perhaps.” There’s a short pause. “But you know damn well why …”

“Enlighten me,” I say, tilting my head and pretending I don’t know.

I know he loaned my father money, but I don’t know how the two even came into contact, knowing where Easton came from. My father must’ve been impressed with his company.

But I can’t believe he’d offer up his daughter as a failsafe. Did my father know Easton wanted me all along, or did Easton suggest it?

Maybe my father never intended to pay back the loan in the first place, and this was all part of his plan to get rid of me. Or maybe Easton made sure my father could never pay it off so he could get his hands on me.

Damn … there’s so much I don’t know. I’m dying to ask my father, but there’s no way I’ll ever be able to contact him with Easton breathing down my neck. And not only that, but I doubt my father would answer my questions. His pride is too big for him to swallow and tell me the truth. If he had to choose between his pride or his life, he’d probably choose to die instead.